Window covering

ABSTRACT

A window covering is described. The window covering has a first tube and a second tube rotatably coupled to the first tube. The first tube and the second tube are disposed along parallel axes. A fabric is fastened at a first end to the first tube and at a second end to the second tube. A tensioning bar is slidably disposed along the fabric in between the first end and the second end. A bracket suspends the first tube and the second tube above the tensioning bar. The described window covering can be made to provide varying levels of privacy along an upper portion or lower portion of a window to be covered.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following relates generally to a window covering, and morespecifically, to a retractable blind that provides selective privacy atany various portions thereof.

BACKGROUND

Various types of window coverings are well known. A typical rollerblind, for example, has a tube rotatable about a horizontal axis with apair of mounting brackets at each end thereof, which are affixedproximate the top of the window. Rotation is achieved by actuating aclutch that is driven by a chain drive or electrical motor. Arectangular fabric serves as the window covering. A horizontal side ofthe fabric is affixed to the tube by adhesive or a retaining assembly ofthe tube and is rolled about the tube between an open position in whichthe window is exposed and a closed position in which the fabric isunrolled so that the length of the fabric rolls down to cover the windowin a closed position. Rotation can typically be stopped at any desirablelocation between the open and closed positions. Therefore, it ispossible to obscure some desired portion of the window to achieve apartial covering, with the covering being of an upper portion of thewindow and exposure of the lower portion of the window.

Other types of window coverings offer some advantages over rollerblinds, one of which may be the ability to achieve a partial windowcovering in which the lower portion of the window is obscured whileexposing the other portions of the window.

It is an object of the following to obviate or mitigate disadvantages ofthe foregoing.

SUMMARY

There is provided a window covering comprising: a first tube and asecond tube rotatably coupled to the first tube, the first tube and thesecond tube disposed along parallel axes; a fabric fastened at a firstend to the first tube and at a second end to the second tube; atensioning bar slidably disposed along the fabric in between the firstend and the second end; and a bracket to suspend the first tube and thesecond tube above the tensioning bar.

In embodiments, the first tube and the second tube each have a geardisposed along its respective axis, wherein the gear of the first tubeis coupled to the gear of the second tube.

In embodiments, one of the two gears are driven by a drive source.

In embodiments, the drive source is an electric motor.

In embodiments, the drive source is a clutch rotated by a manuallydrive.

In embodiments, the tensioning bar comprises an upper slot and a channelformed from the upper slot around a rolling bar.

In embodiments, the first tube, the second tube and the tensioning barare substantially similar in length.

In embodiments, the fabric comprises three portions.

In embodiments, the three portions comprise a first portion from thefirst end to a first meeting line, a second portion from the firstmeeting line to a second meeting line, and a third portion from thesecond meeting line to the second end.

In embodiments, the first portion and the third portion are translucentand the second portion is more opaque than the first portion and thethird portion.

In embodiments, each of the three portions is at least as long as aheight of a window to be covered.

In embodiments, a length of the second portion plus a height of a tubeassembly comprising the first tube and second tube is at least theheight of a window to be covered.

In embodiments, when the first tube and the second tube are rotated, thefabric unrolls and the tensioning bar lowers until the fabric has fullyunrolled from either the first tube or the second tube.

In embodiments, when the tensioning bar has reached a lowest extent,rotation of the first tube and second tube cause the fabric to traversethe tensioning bar passing the second portion from a first side of thetensioning bar to a second side of the tensioning bar.

In embodiments, the window covering can be configured to fully obscure awindow, fully expose the window, or to obscure only a lower portion ofthe window.

These and other aspects are contemplated and described herein. It willbe appreciated that the foregoing summary sets out representativeaspects of the embodiments to assist skilled readers in understandingthe following detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A greater understanding of the embodiments will be had with reference tothe Figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded front view of a window covering;

FIG. 2A is a top down view of a tensioning bar;

FIG. 2B is a front perspective view of a tensioning bar;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of a tensioning bar;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a fabric;

FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C are side views of a window covering invarying positions;

FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B and FIG. 6C are front perspective views of a fabric invarying positions;

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of a finished window coveringembodying the teachings of the present specification;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the window covering of FIG. 7 in a retractedposition;

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the window covering of FIG. 7 in the retractedposition;

FIG. 10 is a right side view of the window covering of FIG. 7 G in theretracted position;

FIG. 11 is a left side view of the window covering of FIG. 7 in theretracted position;

FIG. 12 is a top view of the window covering of FIG. 7 ;

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the window covering of FIG. 7 ;

FIG. 14 is a front perspective view of the window covering of FIG. 7 asit is being extended from the retracted position to an extendedposition;

FIG. 15 is a front perspective view of the window covering of FIG. 7 ina first extended position;

FIG. 16 is a front perspective view of the window covering of FIG. 7 ina second extended position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures. Forsimplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate,reference numerals may be repeated among the Figures to indicatecorresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood bythose of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described hereinmay be practised without these specific details. In other instances,well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described indetail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Also, thedescription is not to be considered as limiting the scope of theembodiments described herein.

Various terms used throughout the present description may be read andunderstood as follows, unless the context indicates otherwise: “or” asused throughout is inclusive, as though written “and/or”; singulararticles and pronouns as used throughout include their plural forms, andvice versa; similarly, gendered pronouns include their counterpartpronouns so that pronouns should not be understood as limiting anythingdescribed herein to use, implementation, performance, etc. by a singlegender; “exemplary” should be understood as “illustrative” or“exemplifying” and not necessarily as “preferred” over otherembodiments. Further definitions for terms may be set out herein; thesemay apply to prior and subsequent instances of those terms, as will beunderstood from a reading of the present description.

The following relates generally to a window covering, and morespecifically, to a retractable blind that provides selective privacy atany various portions thereof.

Referring first to FIG. 1 , an embodiment of the window covering isshown. The window covering 100 comprises a first tube 102 and secondtube 104 disposed along parallel axes X and Y, respectively. The firsttube 102 and second tube 104 can be made of variable length to suit theparticular window to be covered, as is known to the skilled person, andare sufficiently spaced apart to permit rolling of a fabric about one ofthe tubes without interfering with rotation of the other tube.

At one end of each of the tubes is a side plug 106, 108. Each side plug106, 108 mates to a corresponding gear 110, 112. This could be achieved,for example, by a protuberance of the side plug 106, 108 receivablewithin an aperture 118, 120 of the gear 106, 108. Alternatively, theside plugs 106, 108 can include the gear 110, 112 in other words beingformed of a unitary structure.

The gears 110, 112 are rotatably coupled so that rotation of one of thegears causes rotation in the opposite direction of the other one of thegears. It is possible that additional gears could be utilized and thatthe resulting rotation of the tubes could be in the same direction withappropriate adjustments to the remaining portions of the windowcovering.

One of the gears 110, 112 is driven by a drive source D which could be amanual drive such as a rope, wire or chain that rotates a clutch; orcould be an electric motor operating from battery or wired power. In theillustration, drive source D drives the lower of the two gears 112. Thetube being driven the drive source may be slightly shorter than theother tube, in order to account for the width of the drive source. Thedrive source D could alternatively drive the upper of the two gears 110.

The horizontal extents of the blind comprise mounting hardware M, thedetails of which are well known. Mounting hardware typically comprises apair of brackets M1 fastened to the window, the windowsill or a wall orceiling proximate the window. A coupling component M2 is affixed to thetubes and permits rotation of the tubes relative to the brackets M1.Preferably, the brackets are formed to permit temporary removal ofeither or both tubes, which is useful during installation or servicing.

The blind further comprises a fabric, illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIGS. 5Ato 5C. The fabric 400 is a continuous sheet that is affixed at one endto the first tube 102 and at the other end to second tube 104. The meansof affixing the fabric to the tubes may be by adhesive or a retainingassembly formed into the tubes, as is known.

Also provided is a tensioning bar 122 of substantially equal length tothe tubes 102, 104, accounting for the slight difference in the lengthof the two tubes. The length of the tubes and tensioning bar merelyrequire accommodating the width of the fabric, as would be readilyunderstood.

A skilled reader will appreciate that the operation of the windowcovering 100 may require additional components, such as plates, bushing,bearings, brackets, covers and housings, and that the appearance thereofmay be improved with fascia or other coverings.

FIG. 2A illustrates a top-down view of an embodiment of the tensioningbar, FIG. 2B illustrates an exploded perspective view thereof, and FIG.2C illustrates components thereof. FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectionalside view of the tensioning bar. The tensioning bar 122 includes ahousing 202 defining an upwardly facing slot 204, and a rolling bar 206rotationally coupled within the housing 202. The length of the rollingbar is preferably substantially identical in length to the driven tube104 and the housing 202 is slightly longer, preferably about ⅛″ longer.

The rolling bar 206 has a pair of end caps 208 at its ends, or these endcaps can be integrally formed into the rolling bar. The end caps haveouter recesses 212 that can accommodate protrusions 214 from a pair ofhousing end caps 210. The housing end caps 210 are fastened to the twoends of the housing 202 and permit the rolling bar end caps (andtherefore the rolling bar itself) to rotate freely within the housing202 along an axis defined by the protrusions 214 which will be parallelto the axes of the two tubes 102, 104.

The slot 304 provides an entry and exit point to a channel 300 thatwraps underneath the rolling bar 206.

The outer shape of the tensioning bar is shown as a teardrop shapehowever it could be provided in any suitable shape to meet the aestheticneeds of the customer.

Turning now to FIG. 4 , an embodiment of the fabric 400 is shown. Oneend 402 of the fabric 400 is to be coupled to first tube 102 and theother end 404 of the fabric 400 is to be coupled to the second tube 104.The fabric 400 is continuous and comprises three portions. In practice,the fabric could be a single sheet or could be multiple sheets adheredor fused together.

In a preferred embodiment, the fabric 400 comprises portions A, B and Cwherein portions A and B meet at a first meeting line 406 and portions Band C meet at a second meeting line 408. The meeting lines are generallyparallel to the tubes 102, 104. Portions A and C are transparent ortranslucent while portion B is either translucent (preferably at leastmore opaque than portions A and C) or opaque (e.g., what is referred toin the art as a “blackout”) and is sufficiently opaque to provide adesired amount of privacy when it covers a window. An alternativeapproach is to have portions A and C as translucent and portion B asblackout, or any other desired arrangement. In summary, portion B ispreferably provides more privacy than portions A and C.

Preferably each one of the portions A, B and C is of a length equal tothe window height. However, the length of these portions could beslightly less than the window heights since the assembly comprising thetubes and brackets will typically overlay an upper portion of thewindow. Thus, the length of these portions could be a few inches (e.g.about 4 inches) less than the window height without loss of overallfunction. In these cases, what is desired is that the length of theportion B along with the height of the tube assembly is about the sameas the window height, and that portions A and C are at least as long (asany excess of A and C can be left rolled around the tubes). Optionally,portions A and/or C could be made slightly longer than required so thatthe fabric is never required to fully unroll from the first tube 102 orsecond tube 104, as applicable. This can provide additional durabilityof the fastening of the fabric to its respective tube.

Turning now to FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C, the window covering isviewed in cross-sectional side view and the blind is shown at three (ofmany) positions. In FIG. 5A, the window covering is rolled (thetensioning bar 122 is at its highest point) and in FIGS. 5B and 5C, thewindow covering is fully unrolled (the tensioning bar 122 is at itslowest point) but the amount of privacy has varied.

The tensioning bar 122 is disposed intermediate the two ends of thefabric and the fabric freely rolls or slides along the rolling bar 206within the channel 300 with little resistance. The tensioning bar 122preferably has sufficient weight to always slide to the lowest point ofthe fabric that has been unrolled, which will now be described.

In the fully rolled position of FIG. 5A, the fabric 400 is partiallyrolled around the first tube 102 and partially around the second tube104. The combined amount of rolling is sufficient for the tensioning bar122 to be disposed proximate the tubes, in what would be considered adesirable uppermost position.

The drive source D may include a stop such as a mechanical stop of achain drive or a programmable stop of a motor to prevent the tensioningbar from colliding with the tubes.

With respect to the embodiment of the fabric 400 shown in FIG. 4 , inthe fully rolled position as shown in FIG. 5A, portion A is rolledaround the upper tube 102 and portions B and C are rolled around thelower tube 104. The opposite could be provided as well: portions A and Bcould be around one tube and portion C could be around the other tube,without loss of function. Furthermore, it can be seen that in thepreferred embodiment, the fabric drops off the side of the rollers thatis closer to the window. This results in the two drops of fabric beingsubstantially adjacent to one another, resembling a single fabric layer.It is possible to otherwise permit the fabric to drop on opposing sidesof the tubes while still providing the privacy features describedherein.

A small amount of portion A and portion B are left unrolled so that thetensioning bar does not collide with the second tube 104, and so thatthe meeting line 406 rests within the channel 300.

Thus it is apparent that for the embodiment of the fabric 400 shown inFIG. 4 , the length of the fabric that is rolled around the two tubes102, 104 is unequal; there is approximately twice the amount of fabricrolled onto the second tube 104 than on the first tube 102. Thisfacilitates movement of the window covering as now described.

From the position of the blind of FIG. 5A, the drive source rotates thesecond tube 104 in an unrolling direction (clockwise in the illustratedembodiment) and the gear 112 of the second tube 104 drives the gear 110of the first tube 102 in the opposite direction (counter-clockwise inthe illustrated embodiment) to cause further unrolling of the fabric.The fabric simultaneously unrolls from both the first tube 102 and thesecond tube 104 albeit in opposite directions. Thus meeting line 406should not move significantly within the channel during this process.

The drive source D is permitted to continue rotating the tubes so thatonce the fabric 400 has fully unrolled from the first tube 102, thetensioning bar 122 will be at the bottom of the window, i.e., it willreach its lowest extent. In this position, which is what is shown inFIG. 5B, the window covering is in its privacy position in which portionB will extend from the second tube 104 down to the tensioning bar 122and the portion A will extend from the tensioning bar 122 up to thefirst tube 104

Preferably, there is a preset stop configured for the drive source sothat the drive source will stop or pause at this position, making iteasy for the user to retain the window covering in this position ifdesired.

However, the user can then cause the drive source to continue drivingthe second tube 104 in the same clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 5B.At this transition point, portion A is caused to roll onto the firsttube. As can be seen in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B and FIG. 5C, the portion A wasoriginally unrolling off of the left side of the first tube (based onthe viewpoint of the images) and is now rolling onto the right side ofthe first tube (again, based on the same viewpoint).

After this transition point, what is shown in FIG. 5C is that as portionA is being rolled around the first tube 102, the portion B is passingfrom the side S1 through the channel 300 to side S2, and the portion Cis becoming exposed along side S1. Once portion B is half at side S1 andhalf at side S2, rotation may stop, as the window covering as a wholehas now achieved all possible privacy positions. In other words,continuing exposure of portion B on side S2 would only duplicate whathas already been provided on side S1 in terms of privacy along the lowerportion of the window in the same direction would only C fully unrollsfrom the second tube 104. Thus, the drive source may be caused to ceaserotation in the unrolling position. The user can then choose to retainthe position or reverse the drive source to retract the window coveringback to the position of FIG. 5B and then toward the position of FIG. 5A(or intermediate points between).

The reader will appreciate, then, that this operation will result in theblind being able to move from fully rolled (FIG. 5A) to fully unrolledwith complete privacy (FIG. 5B), then for the tensioning bar to rest atits lowermost position while the fabric continues to slide within itschannel to partial lower-privacy (FIG. 5C), and with the drive source Dcausing rotation in the same direction.

Thus, when considered along with the illustrations of FIGS. 5A, 5B and5C, the reader will appreciate that the presently disclosed blind iscapable of being rolled to a desirable position in which any of thefollowing can be achieved: fully exposing the window of length W (theposition of FIG. 5A), fully covering the window for complete privacy(FIG. 6A along with FIG. 5B), partially covering the window along anuppermost portion (FIG. 6B intermediate the positions of FIG. 5A andFIG. 5B), and partially covering the window along a lowermost portion(FIG. 6C along with FIG. 5B or FIG. 5C).

In particular, taking into consideration the illustrations of FIG. 5Band FIG. 5C, the reader will appreciate that with the tensioning bar atits lowermost position (which typically will be proximate the bottom ofthe window), the fabric can slide within the channel such that any ofthe following example arrangements may be true:

As observed by a Side S1 Side S2 person 1^(st) Arrangement Opaqueportion B Transparent portion A Fully Opaque 2^(nd) ArrangementUppermost portion is C Uppermost portion is A Upper portion of andlowermost portion and lowermost portion window is exposed is B is B andlower portion of window is covered (opaque) and the portion of thewindow being covered is the higher part of portion B along either S1 orS2

The reader will also appreciate that with the tensioning bar at anyposition other than its lowermost position, a desirable upper portion ofthe window can be covered.

In the embodiments shown, the tubes 102 and 104 are disposed one abovethe other to reduce the space between the two portions of the fabricthat extend toward the tensioning bar. However, a skilled reader willappreciate that other alternatives are possible if this characteristicis not desired or needed.

A finished article embodying the above teachings is shown in FIGS. 7 to16 . In these figures, the two crosshatching patterns are intended toconvey varying translucency levels, as described above. As can be seenin the extended positions of FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 , the window coveringcan be adjusted to varying amounts of desired privacy.

Yet further modifications could be implemented by a person of ordinaryskill in the art in view of the present disclosure, which modificationswould be within the scope of the present technology.

Although the foregoing has been described with reference to certainspecific embodiments, various modifications thereto will be apparent tothose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as outlined in the appended claims.

1. A window covering comprising: a first tube and a second tuberotatably coupled to the first tube, the first tube and the second tubedisposed along parallel axes; a fabric fastened at a first end to thefirst tube and at a second end to the second tube; a tensioning barslidably disposed along the fabric in between the first end and thesecond end; and a bracket to suspend the first tube and the second tubeabove the tensioning bar.
 2. The window covering of claim 1, wherein thefirst tube and the second tube each have a gear disposed along itsrespective axis, wherein the gear of the first tube is coupled to thegear of the second tube.
 3. The window covering of claim 2, wherein oneof the two gears are driven by a drive source.
 4. The window covering ofclaim 3, wherein the drive source is an electric motor.
 5. The windowcovering of claim 3, wherein the drive source is a clutch rotated by amanually drive.
 6. The window covering of claim 1, wherein thetensioning bar comprises an upper slot and a channel formed from theupper slot around a rolling bar.
 7. The window covering of claim 1,wherein the first tube, the second tube and the tensioning bar aresubstantially similar in length.
 8. The window covering of claim 1,wherein the fabric comprises three portions.
 9. The window covering ofclaim 8, wherein the three portions comprise a first portion from thefirst end to a first meeting line, a second portion from the firstmeeting line to a second meeting line, and a third portion from thesecond meeting line to the second end.
 10. The window covering of claim9, wherein the first portion and the third portion are translucent andthe second portion is more opaque than the first portion and the thirdportion.
 11. The window covering of claim 9, wherein each of the threeportions is at least as long as a height of a window to be covered. 12.The window covering of claim 9, wherein a length of the second portionplus a height of a tube assembly comprising the first tube and secondtube is at least the height of a window to be covered.
 13. The windowcovering of claim 1, wherein when the first tube and the second tube arerotated, the fabric unrolls and the tensioning bar lowers until thefabric has fully unrolled from either the first tube or the second tube.14. The window covering of claim 9, wherein when the tensioning bar hasreached a lowest extent, rotation of the first tube and second tubecause the fabric to traverse the tensioning bar passing the secondportion from a first side of the tensioning bar to a second side of thetensioning bar.
 15. The window covering of claim 9, wherein the windowcovering can be configured to fully obscure a window, fully expose thewindow, or to obscure only a lower portion of the window.